Thursday, June 18, 2015

Last week, Warsaw Police charged several subjects involved in a white supremacist hit on a local individual.

The investigation began on May 25, when Warsaw Police narcotics officers, along with the Indiana State Police, acted on a tip of a methamphetamine lab in Warsaw. During the meth lab investigation, officers found that a local gang member had ordered an “SOS” (Shoot/Smash on Site) hit. The hit was confirmed through various sources and the individuals involved were identified.

On Thursday, June 11, Warsaw Police located, Ryan Kauffman, who was the alleged hitman, and took him into custody. Kauffman, 33 years old, of Warsaw, had a firearm in his possession along with methamphetamine.

Kauffman was arrested and transported to the Kosciusko County Jail where he is being held on the following felony charges: conspiracy to commit felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, criminal gang activity, possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and possession of methamphetamine. He is being held on a $500,000 bond with a parole hold.

Also located and charged are:

*Mark Holbrook, 37 years old, of Warsaw, is being held on charges of conspiracy to commit felony

aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, criminal gang activity and dealing Methamphetamine. He is being held in the Kosciusko County Jail on a $500,000 bond with a parole hold.

*Stacy Sult, 39 years old, of Bourbon, is being held on charges of conspiracy to commit felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and criminal gang activity. She is being held in the Kosciusko County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
The investigation is ongoing. Additional charges and arrests are pending further investigation. Warsaw Police were assisted in their investigation by the Indiana State Police and the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Kristina Fox, a 30-year-old administrative assistant, alongside her younger brother, was beaten and stabbed repeatedly in her back and face while being called "nigger" repeatedly by a racist mob of white men and women in Taylor-Lauridsen Park in Canaryville. Fox told her horrific story on Facebook from the hospital and recently did her first television interview, seen below, as she recovers:

On the morning of Saturday, May 30, 2015, my little brother, Marcus Fox, my daughter's father, Darrius Walton, and myself were sitting in Taylor Lauridsen Park conversing with 3 Caucasian people we had just met (Courtney, Kevin, and Jodie). Everyone was having a nice time.

Approximately 7-9 more Caucasian people arrived in the park. My little brother being the social butterfly he is introduced himself and began chatting with the new arrivals. After about 30 minutes, one of the guys out of the group we initially met and another from the group that arrived later got into a verbal altercation with each other. My little brother tried to calm things down but this soon escalated as everyone began jumping on him. It was at this point things turned for the worse as he and I fought this massive group of Caucasians consisting of both men and women.

They were throwing glass bottles, crutches, bricks, and anything else they could find at us. As we continued to fight through this crowd of assailants to get away, more Caucasians came from out of nowhere and joined in brutally attacking us delivering closed fist blows and kicks to our bodies and head. We began the fight of our lives.This MOB of around 20 Caucasians beat us until we were unable to move and left us laying in the park. My brother & I sustained multiple injuries. I was stabbed eleven times, eight times in the back & right shoulder, twice in the face & once in the head (which the knife was left lodged by one of the perpetrators).

My brother was stabbed nine times, along his back, right side with one of the wounds causing him to have a punctured lung. NO ARRESTS have been made and the only publicity this received was an irresponsibly written 97 word article in the Chicago Sun-Times riddled with incorrect information.

If the roles were reversed and had this been a mob of African Americans attacking two Caucasians this would have garnered immediate attention and been plastered EVERYWHERE. We have contacted news stations & have not heard back from anyone. This further proves that America believes- BLACK LIVES DON’T MATTER. Please HELP US GET JUSTICE for this hate crime! Please help us show that OUR BLACK LIVES MATTER! #‎BlackLivesMatter Please help us share our story.

Kevin Hoynes, 21; David Rice, 21; Courtney Vega, 19; and Joya Urbikas, 18, were each charged with two counts of aggravated battery to do bodily harm, two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of mob action, according to Chicago police. All of the charges are felonies.Kristina Fox, 30, and her brother told police that they were attacked May 30 in Taylor-Lauridsen Park in the Canaryville neighborhood. A fight broke out and Fox was stabbed multiple times. Fox alleges that she and her brother had bricks and bottles thrown at them, and that racial slurs were being yelled as they were stabbed.The four are scheduled to appear in bond court Sunday

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Antifascists fight against those who—in the government or in the streets—dream of imposing their fascist and other Far Right nationalist nightmares on the rest of us. Throughout the world, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and racist bigotries are on the rise. Antifas are on the frontline in confronting these reactionary politics, and we will not forget our comrades imprisoned in the course of this struggle.

The July 25 International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners originated in 2014 as a Day of Solidarity with Jock Palfreeman, an Australian who is imprisoned in Bulgaria for defending two Romani men from an attack by fascist football hooligans. Groups around the world took action: holding demonstrations, benefits supporting the Bulgarian Prisoners Association, writing to Jock, and talking about the plight of the Romani and Sinti people in general.

In 2015 we would like to expand this day of solidarity to all antifascist prisoners around the world. We encourage groups to take the day to plan an event of their choice—whether it is a letter writing, demonstration, benefit, or other action—and to focus on the prisoners and related issues that are of most importance to them locally.

Below is a list of global antifascist prisoners; if there is an antifa prisoner who is missing, please e-mail us with his or her details and the language(s) they can read.

No Pasaran!
Until All Are Free!

Send prisoner updates, announcements for local events, and additional group endorsements to nycantifascistaction@gmail.com.

Roman Bogdan was arrested on April 15, 2015, as part of the long-going state repression of anti-fascists in Brest, stemming from a fight between anti-fascists and fascists on May 8, 2013. Roman is facing up to fifteen years in prison on charges of group hooliganism and weapons charges.

He can read Russian and simple English phrases.

Address:
Roman Bogdan
224030
Brest
ul. K. Marksa, 86,
SIZO-7
BELARUS

Dzmitry Stsyashenka

Dzmitry Stsyashenka was arrested on October 4, 2013, for his alleged involvement in a fight between antifascists and neo-Nazis in Brest on May 8, 2013, that sent one Nazi to the hospital. He is also accused of another fight with neo-Nazis during the summer of 2013. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but in 2014 his term was reduced by one year due to an amnesty.

Dzmitry Zvan’ko was arrested for his alleged involvement in a fight between anti-fascists and neo-Nazis in Brest on May 8, 2013, that sent one Nazi to the hospital. He was arrested the next day, along with four other people, in a police raid on the homes of known anti-fascists. Dzmitry filed a complaint to the prosecutor about psychological and physical abuse while in custody. He was accused of malicious group hooliganism and serious bodily assault and faced up to ten years of prison. Dzmitry was found guilty and sentenced to five years of prison, but after paying off about 4,000 euro in damages he was granted amnesty, which has reduced his term by one year.

Jock Palfreeman is an Australian anti-fascist political prisoner serving a twenty-year prison sentence in Bulgaria for the rather mysterious death of a neo-Nazi football hooligan who was part of a group attacking two Romani men in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2007. Jock came to the aid of the Romani, and quickly found himself the focus of the attack. Bulgarian authorities did everything they could to ensure that Jock did not receive a fair trial, and after his sentencing have refused–in contravention of their own treaties–to transfer him to Australia to serve the rest of his time closer to his family. Jock wants donations for him sent to the Bulgarian Prisoners’ Association, which he is part of.

Aleksandr Kolchenko was arrested in Crimea on May 17, 2014, along with several others, and accused by Russian authorities of participation in a “terrorist group” which planned explosions near the Eternal Fire memorial and the Lenin monument in Simferopol, as well as having sabotaged railway tracks and electricity lines. Aleksandr is also alleged to have carried out two arson attacks in April: against the headquarters of the Russian Unity-Party, and the Russian Community of Crimea. He was transferred to Moscow and is being kept in draconian conditions. His lawyers are under a gag order, and have been refused elementary rights to defend him. He faces fifteen-to-twenty years in a labor camp.

Russian authorities claim that Aleksandr is a member of Right Sektor, a Ukrainian ultra-right nationalist organization, but he has no connection to the group—a fact confirmed by relatives and friends. Moreover, Aleksandr is an antifascist and anarchist who consistently opposed nationalistic movements in Crimea and faced constant fascist attacks for his activism. For example, after a film screening about murdered anti-fascist journalist Anastasiya Baburova, he was attacked by thirty Nazis with knives.

Since this case is highly political, Aleksandr’s legal costs are high, around 850 euro per month. The investigation has created a heavy financial strain on local ABC groups, and there is a call for financial support and information distribution. You can make donations via PayPal to abc-msk@riseup.net or using a bank account (write to the same e-mail address for details).

Alexey Sutuga is a longtime anarchist and anti-fascist who was arrested in April 5, 2014, for a fight with members of the ultra right in Moscow. He was sentenced on September 30, 2014, to three years and one month in prison for his alleged involvement in the fight.

However, this sentence comes in the context of an earlier case from April 2012, when he was arrested for allegedly taking part in a fight at a punk/hardcore concert in Moscow on December 17, 2011. The conflict began after club security, consisting of members of the far right, provoked guests. The concert was stopped prematurely because of the fight, but the security then attempted to take some of the audience hostage and threatened to call their nationalist football hooligan friends in reprisal. The audience members resisted and the club security opened fire with rubber coated metal bullets. However, the club security was neutralized and sent to the hospital. The case against Alexey and several others was eventually dropped in January 2014 on the eve of the Sochi Winter Olympics as part of the amnesty bill, approved as a PR stunt on initiative of Vladimir Putin.

Address:
Earlier this year, Alexey was in transit to a prison in Irkutsk, Siberia.
We are waiting to confirm his new address.

Please note: Moscow ABC advises that letters in English are seldom accepted in Russian prisons, so please write only in Russian (try using a translation program), or just send photos and postcards.

Joel Almgren was sentenced to five years and six months for defending a local community-organized anti-racist demonstration in Stockholm against a brutal Nazi attack on December 15, 2013. The peaceful protest—against fascist assaults on local anti-racists and the dissemination of Nazi propaganda in area schools—was attacked with knives, sticks, and glass bottles by the most militant Nazi group in Sweden. Anti-fascists at the scene defended the demonstration from the attack and many were injured themselves.

Linus Soinjoki was charged and convicted for actions related to his involvement in the anti-fascist movement in Sweden. He was sentenced to fourteen months in prison and has large financial obligations relating to his trial.

Linus can read Swedish and English.

Address:
Linus began serving his sentence in mid-May 2015, and is moving around the prison system. We will post his address when it becomes available.

On New Year’s Eve of 2013, Luke O’Donovan attended a house party in Reynoldstown, a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. Luke was seen dancing with and kissing other men at the party. Later in the night he was insulted with homophobic slurs, and attacked by several people at once. Luke unsuccessfully attempted to escape, at which point several witnesses reported watching between five and twelve men ganging-up on Luke and stomping on his head and body, evidently with the intent to kill him. He was called a faggot before and during the attack, throughout the course of which he and five others were stabbed. Luke was subsequently imprisoned and charged with five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon as well as one count of attempted murder.

Luke’s trial concluded on August 12, 2014, when he accepted a negotiated plea deal. He agreed to a two year sentence beginning that day, and then eight years of harsh probation. The judge also banished Luke from the state of Georgia for the term of his probation.

Jason Hammond accepted a non-cooperating guilty plea and was sentenced to forty-one months on January 2015 for his part in an organized direct action taken against a group of white supremacists.

In 2012, a group of racists and white supremacists organized a White Nationalist Economic Summit in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park. Groups of anti-fascists and anti-racists from the Midwest confronted the meeting and successfully shut down the event through a righteous melee. In the aftermath, five antifascists were arrested, and dubbed the Tinley Park 5. The five were sentenced to upwards of three years and all have since been released. Jason was arrested later, and is the last person still in jail for this action.

About

Contact: southsideara (at) riseup.net

TORCH Points of Unity:

1. We disrupt fascist and far right organizing and activity.

2. We don’t rely on the cops or courts to do our work for us. This
doesn’t mean we never go to court, but the cops uphold white supremacy
and the status quo. They attack us and everyone who resists oppression.
We must rely on ourselves to protect ourselves and stop the fascists.

3. We oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation. We intend to do
the hard work necessary to build a broad, strong movement of oppressed
people centered on the working class against racism, sexism, nativism,
anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination
against the disabled, the oldest, the youngest, and the most oppressed
people. We support abortion rights and reproductive freedom. We want a
classless, free society. We intend to win!

4. We hold ourselves accountable personally and collectively to live up to our ideals and values.

5. We not only support each other within the network, but we also
support people outside the network who we believe have similar aims or
principles. An attack against one is an attack against all.